Oklahoma is coming off two solid road performances at Stephen F. Austin and TCU. In the two games, OU outshot its opponent in each category except at the free throw line, which is very uncharacteristic of a Sherri Coale-coached team. OU connected on 55.8 percent of its shots from the field and 40 percent of its three-pointers. However, the Sooners only shot 67.9 from the charity stripe, while TCU and SFA combined to make 85.7 percent of their free throws. Oklahoma outrebounded the two teams, 69 to 54.

Senior forward Phylesha Whaley (Slaton, Texas) leads a balanced Sooner attack that features four players averaging in double figures through the first eight games. Whaley, who scored a season-high 26 points against Tennessee Tech, is averaging 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore guards LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) and Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) have been consistent for OU, averaging 13.1 and 12.3 points, respectively. In addition, Dales leads the team in assists with 6.8 followed by junior guard Sunny Hardeman with 4.0 assists per game. Freshman forward Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) has contributed 11.9 points and 7.0 rebounds through the first eight games.

The Sooners opened their 1999-2000 home schedule by hosting the Bertha Teague Classic last week. Oklahoma picked up back-to-back wins over Oral Roberts and Tulsa to become the only team in the tournament to go undefeated. The Sooners also defeated Sam Houston State, 97-60, at the Lloyd Noble Center on Dec. 2.

OU got off to a 1-2 start after finishing the Hawaiian Regent Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, in a three-way tie for second place. OU lost its opening game of the season to No. 24 Arizona, before snapping Hawaii's perfect 7-0 mark in its own tournament over the past three years. OU lost to Tennessee Tech in the final game.

As a team, Oklahoma is averaging 77.3 points and 38.3 rebounds per game. The Sooners are shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 30.1 from three-point land and 73.4 percent from the charity stripe. OU has dominated the offensive glass pulling down 111 offensive rebounds to its opponents 76. The team also holds the overall advantage in rebounds, 306-251, and steals, 89-68.

Saturday's Game
Returning to the friendly confindes of the Lloyd Noble Center, the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team (6-2) is riding a five-game winning streak heading into today's game against Arkansas-Little Rock (2-3).

The Sooners are coming off back-to-back road wins over Stephen F. Austin, 61-47, and TCU, 94-74.

OU has not lost a game since dropping a 74-64 decision to Tennessee Tech in the Hawaiian Regent Tournament on Nov. 21.

Arkansas-Little Rock snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday with a win over Southwest Texas, 64-59. The Trojans are 2-3 on the year.

The Sooners' games will be broadcast on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (KOMA 1520 AM). Ed Murray (play-by-play) and Jenny Bramer (analyst) will call the action.

Probable Starters

Oklahoma

Pos.

No.

Players

Ht.

Yr.

GP-GS

PPG

RPG

Others

F

34

Phylesha Whaley

5-10

Sr.

8-8

19.8

8.1

50% FG

F

10

Caton Hill

6-1

Fr.

8-8

11.9

7.0

1st D-Reb. (38)

G

20

LaNeishea Caufield

5-9

So.

8-8

13.1

4.5

3.0 spg

G

21

Stacey Dales

6-0

So.

8-8

2.3

5.6

6.8 apg

G

13

Sunny Hardeman

5-7

Jr.

8-5

5.9

2.0

4.0 apg

Off the bench (listed numerically)

Pos.

No.

Players

Ht.

Yr.

GP-GS

PPG

RPG

C

00

Desiree Taylor

6-1

Jr.

8-3

2.8

2.5

G

23

Jadrea Seeley

6-2

Fr.

8-0

7.6

1.3

F

40

Shannon Selmon

6-1

So.

8-0

1.8

1.5

Arkansas-Little Rock

Pos.

No.

Players

Ht.

Yr.

GP-GS

PPG

RPG

F

42

LaShonda Hampton

5-9

Fr.

5-4

3.6

3.4

F

40

Quasha Burley

6-1

Jr.

5-5

12.8

7.4

C

44

Mediha Skoro

6-3

Fr.

5-5

9.4

8.0

G

5

Andrea Haris

5-7

Fr.

5-5

14.2

4.0

G

10

Maleka Sweat

5-8

Fr.

5-5

9.6

4.8

Off the bench (listed numerically)

Pos.

No.

Players

Ht.

Yr.

GP-GS

PPG

RPG

C

00

Eplunus Brooks

6-0

Fr.

5-0

5.0

5.2

G

30

Shemeka Strong

5-8

So.

5-1

8.6 9.4

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
After an 11-year layoff, the University of Arkansas-Little Rock restarted its women's basketball program. This will be the 20th season that the university has sponsored women's hoops. UALR overall record coming into this season is 97-270.

Current Head Coach Tracy Stewart-Lange served as an assistant coach with the Trojans during the last year of the program in 1987-88.

UALR opened the season with a 76-55 win over Centenary and defeated Southwest Texas Saturday for its second win of the season. UALR has lost to Butler (84-62), Missouri-Kansas City (92-58) and Mississippi (68-56) on the road.

Freshman guard Andrea "Muci" Haris leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game while junior college transfer Quasha Burley averages 12.8 ppg. Defensively, the Trojans depend on sophomore guard Shemeka Strong who averages nearly 10 rebounds per game (9.4). Freshman Mediha Skoro and Burley average 8.0 and 7.4 rebounds per outing for the Trojans. Directing traffic for UALR is Harris with her 5.0 assists per game.

THE SERIES
Today will only be the second meeting between Oklahoma and Arkansas-Little Rock. The first outing resulted in a 99-67 Sooner win in Norman in 1988.

NEXT UP
Following today's home game, the Sooners will take six days off before traveling to Denver, Colo., to face the University of Denver on Dec. 18 at 9 p.m. (CST).

Oklahoma returns home on Dec. 21 and Dec. 29 to host San Diego and top-ranked Connecticut. OU's game with UConn will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Network at 7 p.m.

TEAM AND PLAYER NOTES

The last time an Oklahoma team won six games in a row was in 1993-94.

The last team to open the season with a 6-2 or better record was in 1991-92 (6-2). In addition, Valerie Goodwin-Colbert opened her first season as head coach with a 6-2 record. Maura McHugh ended her OU coaching career by opening the season with an 8-0 run.

Oklahoma is one of three teams in the Big 12 Conference that has won its last five games. The others are Texas Tech and Missouri.

The Sooners are also tied with Missouri for second in most consecutive wins to date. TTU is on a six-game winning streak.

MAKING THE MOVE
Senior All-America candidate Phylesha Whaley moved up to the No. 2 spot on Oklahoma's all-time scoring chart against TCU Tuesday. The Slaton, Texas, native now has 1,659 career points and is working toward Molly McGuire's 2,149 mark for the all-time record.

Whaley currently holds school records in most free throws made (464) and attempted (601) and offensive rebounds (247).

The 5-10 power forward continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.8 points and 8.1 boards per game.

OU SET TO APPEAR IN 10 REGULAR SEASON TV GAMES
Phylesha Whaley (Slaton, Texas) has currently appeared in 91 starting lineups for the Sooners. If she remains healthy, Whaley will set the school record for most consecutive games started against Arkansas-Little Rock on December 11 at the Lloyd Noble Center. She tied the mark against TCU on Tuesday.

POLL VOTES
Oklahoma has received votes in each of the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll. This marks the longest span that OU has received top-25 votes under Head Coach Sherri Coale.

TOYS FOR TOTS
Today the United States Marine Corps will be collecting Toys for Tots at the upper concourse entrances. The Marine Corps ask fans to bring a new, unwrapped toy for under privileged children. Those whom brought a toy received one coupon for a discounted ticket for a future men's or women's game.

The selected game for the women will be the Connecticut game on Wed., Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. The discounted ticket is good for an adult admission at the child's price of $2.00.

OU SET TO APPEAR IN 10 REGULAR SEASON TV GAMES
Oklahoma women's basketball program will set a school record during the 1999-2000 season by appearing on local, state, regional and national television on 10 occasions during the regular season. OU will make its first ever appearance on ESPN2 on Feb. 19 at Texas Tech. The Sooners will also be seen on the Fox Sports Network five times and News Now 53, a local Norman/Oklahoma City station, four times.

WONDER WHEN
For the first time in her Sooner career, senior Phylesha Whaley (Slaton, Texas) did not attempt a free throw in back-to-back games. Against Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, Phylesha Whaley was not at the charity stripe. This has only occurred five times in Whaley's collegiate career, three no shows happened last season.

THE LAST TIME

A OU player scored 30 or more points:

40, Phylesha Whaley vs.Arkansas (3-14-99)

A OU player collected 12 or more rebounds:

12, Caton Hill vs. Tulsa (11-29-99)

12, Phylesha Whaley vs. Stephen F. Austin (12-5-99)

A OU player collected six or more assists:

10, Stacey Dales vs. Sam Houston State (12-2-99)

A OU player had 8 or more steals:

9, Caton Hill vs. Tulsa (11-29-99)

A OU player made 10 or more field goals:

13, Phylesha Whaley vs. Tenn. Tech (11-21-99)

A OU player made 10 or more free throws:

11, LaNeishea Caufield vs. ORU (11-28-99)

A OU player made five or more 3-pointers:

A OU player recorded a double-double:

Phylesha Whaley vs. SFA (12-5-99)

Oklahoma scored 100 or more points:

103 vs. Jackson State (12-7-98)

An opponent scored 100 or more points against OU:

101, Nebraska (2-14-99)

Oklahoma played an overtime/double overtime game:

OT - vs. Arkansas (3-14-99) - L, 97-93

DOT - vs. Oklahoma State (1-14-96) - L, 86-79

Oklahoma won by 30 or more points:

37 vs. Sam Houston State (12-2-99)

Oklahoma lost by 30 or more points:

35, vs. Texas Tech (2-19-98)

DALES A CONSISTANT THREAT FOR OPPONENTS
Sophomore point guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) used her redshirt-freshman season to improve every aspect of her game and the women's basketball program. Dales continues to be the floor general and emotional leader for the Sooners.

Dales has already had three solid all-around performances this season. Against Tulsa, she had 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Dales also hit 5-of-6 free throws and pocketed two steals. Against Sam Houston State, she scored 18 points, had 10 assists, was 4-of-4 from the free throw line and hit 7-of-8 shots from the field. In Dales' latest performance at TCU she produced 23 points, hitting 9-of-13 shot and nailing 4-of-6 three pointers. She tied her career best for most made threes with four. Dales also added two rebounds and had four assists vs. TCU. In addition, Dales has had at least five assists in seven of eight game this year.

REUNITED ONCE AGAIN
Appearing on Oklahoma's roster and among the Sooners' starting five are two natives of Ada, Okla., in sophomore LaNeishea Caufield and Caton Hill. The duo renew their days as teammates as the pair played high school basketball together for one season at Ada High. Hill joined the Ada program following her sophomore year at Lansing High in Kansas. The two teamed up to produced a 27-1 record in 1997-98.

This season Caufield and Hill makes up 32.4 percent of Oklahoma's scoring and 30.0 percent of the team's rebounds. Hill leads the team in defensive boards with 38, while Caufeild is the team leader in steals with 24. From the field, Caufield is hitting 44.9 and Hill is making 52.7 percent of her shots.

LEADING THE PACK
For the first time in her young collegiate career, freshman Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) paced the Sooners with 17 points against Stephen F. Austin. Hill also grabbed nine boards and added three assists vs. the Ladyjacks.

In addition, the 6-1 forward recorded her second double double of the season as she had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the triumph over Tulsa, 93-70, on Nov. 29. Her first collegiate double double came the night before against Oral Roberts when she scored 12 points and grabbed 11 boards. Both performances were in the Bertha Teague Classic at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Stacey Dales was the last Sooner to produce back-to-back double doubles. Dales accomplished this a year ago against Texas (J23) and Texas Tech (J27). Against the Longhorns, Dales had 21 points and 12 rebounds and vs. Texas Tech she scored 17 points and had 10 boards.

HARDEMAN HAS SOONERS AT 5-0
Since the insertion of junior guard Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) into the Oklahoma lineup, the Sooners are 5-0. The Norman native has been a consistent player for OU the past three seasons.

Since the ORU game on Nov. 28, Hardeman is hitting 40 percent of her shots from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line. She has also connected on five-of-six free throws (.833) and plays over 30 minutes per game. The guard averages 6.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game over the last five outings.

Hardeman's performance has her ranked second in the Big 12 Conference in assists/turnover ratio with a 2.25. She also appears among the league's elite in 3-point field goals percentage (.355/12th) and 3-point field goals per game (1.57/11th). (as of Dec. 5)

CLIMBING THE HILL
Freshman Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) has hit over 50 percent from the field in five games this season. Her most impressive performance came against Tulsa when she hit 8-of-11 shot for a field goal percentage of 72.7. Hill also went 2-of-5 from the three-point line for 40 percent. The power forward improved her personal best to four assists and nine steals. The rookie barely missed having a triple double against the Golden Hurricane. Hill had 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine steals against Tulsa.

POTENTIAL WNBA
Averaging the second most points in the Big 12 Conference, senior Phylesha Whaley (Slaton, Texas) continues to lead the Oklahoma women's basketball team with 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. As of Dec. 5, Whaley ranked among the league's best in four categories: second in points (20.1) and offensive rebounds (4.71), seventh in free throw percentage (.793) and rebounds (8.7).

In the NCAA first statisticial report of the season, Whaley appears at the No. 29 slot for most points per game.

CAUFIELD CONTINUES SUCCESS
After being named the 1999 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and earning freshman All-American honors by two women's basketball publications you might wonder if OU sophomore LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) would be content with her early success. In a one word answer, no.

Caufield continues to rank second on the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game. She also is the team leader in steals, swipping 3.0 per game and ranks third in assists with 3.1 per game.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Sophomore Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) and two other OU athletes, Tim Heskett (men's basketball) and Jessica Volcansek (soccer), have been selected as Bank of America Community Champions, and are finialists for the Community Champion of the Year Award. These student-athletes' selection was based on their accomplishments in Big 12 Conference athletics and in the community. In recognition of excellence, Bank of America contributed $3,000 to Oklahoma's general scholarship fund.

SOONERS FINISH 2-0 IN EXHIBITIONS
Oklahoma completed a perfect 2-0 exhibition slate this year with a 91-52 win over Norrkoping Proderm of Sweden on Nov. 8 and a 83-69 victory over Club Gija Marijampole of Lithuania on Nov. 13.

Whaley was one of only 12 players named to the Big 12 All-Stars team that toured Europe last August. The team competed in six games, accumulating a record of 5-1 behind Whaley's team-leading 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Dales gained valuable experience by playing on the Canadian National team that won a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in August. The Brockville, Ontario, native averaged 4.6 points, 2.7 assists and 19.4 minutes per game, coming off the bench for the Canadians.

Caufield was invited to try out for the USA Women's Basketball World University Games squad. She was one of 43 players asked to showcase her talent during the six-day trial in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition to trying out for the 12-member squad, Caufield participated in five seminars that focused on life skills covering various subjects including life after basketball and setting career goals. The 5-9 guard participated in five practice sessions, a three-on-three tournament and a four-team round robin tournament.

HEAD COACH SHERRI COALE
Without question, four years ago the University of Oklahoma made the right hire in Head Coach Sherri Coale. Coale has been on a mission to rebuild a once proud women's basketball program.

In only her third season, she advanced her team to postseason action and recorded the school's first winning record since the 1994-95 team. The Sooners also finished tied for fifth in the Big 12 Conference after a preseason poll had them slated for 10th. In addition, numerous team records and individual honors were established a year ago.

Coale landed an All-American in her first collegiate recruit in Phylesha Whaley. Whaley enters her senior season as a preseason All-American, according to the Women's Basketball Journal in September. Coale also coached the school's first-ever Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year in LaNeishea Caufield. Caufield also became the first OU women's basketball player ever to be invited to the USA World University Game trials and only the second freshman All-American. Coale led Whaley and Stacey Dales to all-conference honors. The honor marked Whaley's third and Dales' first. Whaley spent the summer playing on the Big 12 All-Star team that participated in tournaments in Sweden and Finland, while Dales showcased her skills at the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Overall excellence is the norm for Coale's Sooners as 13 players have earned 21 Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Coale Year-by-Year

Year

School

Overall Rec.

Conference Rec.

1989-90

Norman High

11-12 (.478)

1990-91

Norman High

17-9 (.654)

1991-92

Norman High

18-9 (.667)

1992-93

Norman High

25-3 (.893)

State Champions

1993-94

Norman High

23-5 (.821)

1994-95

Norman High

26-1 (.963)

1995-96

Norman High

27-1 (.964)

State Champions

Total

7 years

147-40

1996-97

Oklahoma

5-22 (.185)

1-15 (.063)

1997-98

Oklahoma

8-19 (296)

4-12 (.250)

1998-99

Oklahoma

15-14 (.517)

8-8 (.500)

Total

3 years

28-55 (.241)

13-35 (.271)

WHALEY TABBED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Senior Phylesha Whaley (Slaton, Texas) was named to the Women's Basketball Journal (WBJ) Preseason All-American honorable mention team in September. The 5-10 forward has been the leading scorer for the Sooners for the past three years and the top rebounder for the last two seasons. She poured in a career-, school- and Bud Walton Arena-record 40 points against Arkansas in the second round of the 1999 WNIT.

"This is an amazing honor for me," said Whaley. "It's a privilege to be considered in the same field as some of the top players in the nation. I also know if it weren't for my teammates and coaches this wouldn't be possible."

Whaley, who was Head Coach Sherri Coale's first collegiate recruit, currently ranks among the school's all-time best in 17 categories. She became the 14th player in women's basketball history to record 1,000 points. She surpassed that milestone on Nov. 29, 1998, against Coppin State at the Cancun Invitational. She's a three-time All-Big 12 selection and has averaged more than 18 points and seven rebounds per game during her career at OU.

"I'm extremely excited for Phylesha," said Coale. "This is a tremendous individual honor as well as a reflection on our team and program at Oklahoma. She has had an outstanding career at OU so far and I expect her senior season to be stellar as well."

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